


Long Road to Roon

by Zoe_Dameron



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Adventure, Adventures in Self-Loathing, Amputation, Bounty Hunter, Captivity, Electrocution, Execution, Gambling, Hurt, Incompetence, Kidnapping, Racism, Road Trip, Self-Hostage Negotiation, Self-Loathing, Xenophobia, botched surgery, sand
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-23 11:07:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10718181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zoe_Dameron/pseuds/Zoe_Dameron
Summary: Poe is captured by a bounty hunter and he has five days to talk his way free before he's delivered to the First Order.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [beautifullights](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beautifullights/gifts).



> Definitely inspired by Firefly, especially the episodes Objects in Space and Out of Gas. 
> 
> <3

The unrelenting groans of the ship shuddering around him was enough to rouse Poe from his forced unconsciousness, the tang of engine grease momentarily leading him to believe he was back in the X-wing hangar on D’Qar. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes he moved to stand, letting out a harsh gasp at the pain radiating from both his kneecaps and his neck.

“Oh, hey. You’re finally awake,” a soft, deep voice above him said, his figure hidden behind a large pilot’s chair. “Well, I’m glad the shock didn’t kill you. Sorry about that. I think I set it too high. Needed to be sure.”

“Wh – what??” Poe responded, his knees scraping against the durasteel grating of the cramped cockpit. He reached to push himself up only to discover his hands chained to the grating on either side of him, his neck pulled down and fastened by a chain in front of him. His position was one of kneeling, forced submission, head bowed, arms drawn back, and it _hurt_.

“Man, stop struggling,” the voice above him replied as Poe continued to thrash in his bonds. “It’s too late now. It’s over. I can’t have you causing a fuss all the way to Alzoc III, I really can’t. So, just stop.”

“We’re going to _Alzoc III_?! What?! Why?” Poe was normally extremely cool under pressure but between the pain, the restraints, the mysterious voice above him, and the mention of a slave planet, he was struggling not to panic.

“That’s where the bounty says to take you,” the voice replied, calmly.

Poe tested his bonds again. “ _Bounty_?! Whose bounty? Since when do I have a –? Listen, buddy, you have to let me go. Whoever has a bounty on m–”

“The First Order has the bounty on you. Someone named ‘Ren’, not that it matters.” The man behind the voice got up out of his seat and turned to crouch in front of Poe, gently grabbing his jaw and pulling his face up to meet him. The chain around Poe’s neck offered little slack, and he grunted in pain as the collar bit into his neck. From his position he could barely see his captor, noticing only that his skin was a light, ashen grey. The man’s breath was unnaturally hot against the sweat on Poe’s face.

“Just so we’re clear, I’m not interested in listening to you beg and whine at me for the next five days. I’ve had a killer headache that won’t go away, and you yapping back here won’t help. So, again, stop struggling and stop making noise,” he said, punctuating his words with a sharp jab at Poe’s shoulder. Poe thrashed against the chains again as the man pulled a thick strap out of his back pocket, fastening it over Poe’s mouth and buckling it tightly against the back of his head.

“I’m sorry to have to do this, but I think it’ll be best for both of us.” The man rose and returned to his seat, rubbing his temples and ignoring Poe’s muffled cries behind him, adding, “And if you keep throwing a fit and jangling those chains I can make them tight enough that you won’t be able to. So, give it a rest, man.”

Poe dropped his head in exasperated defeat, working to slow his heart rate as he tried to figure a way out of the situation without making it worse. While he couldn’t raise his head any higher than his hunched shoulders, a lifetime in similar cockpits allowed him to thoroughly assess the area.

The entire cabin was small, perhaps an SS-54 assault ship or a similar model, a ship he hadn’t seen many of during his trips off-world. The grated flooring had been phased out when the developers transitioned it from an assault ship to a light freighter, meaning this bird was probably several decades old. From what he could see of the dash and the new-ish leather seats, it was obvious that cosmetic repairs had been done, likely to facilitate a quick sale on an uneducated buyer. Such attention paid to the interior could be meant to distract from larger structural issues elsewhere. Yards that sold to bounty hunters weren’t exactly the most reliable place to get a ship from; if the craft were to explode or start venting oxygen, well… bounty hunters normally worked alone so there wouldn’t be anyone left to complain. The realization didn’t do much to settle Poe’s anxiety.

A soft but insistent rattling in the engine behind him caught his attention. On Poe’s own ship and on every ship he’d ever flown, any and all unusual noises were given urgent attention. Part of him wanted to alert the man, to make enough noise that he’d have to get up and come see what the problem was, but there was a very real chance he’d simply wind up at the end of a shorter chain. As things stood, he was already in pain from the slack he was given.

Resigned to the futility of it, he instead focused on shifting his body to a more comfortable position. Poe prayed to the Force that the bounty hunter knew what he was doing.

They coasted on autopilot for what seemed like an eternity, with the bounty hunter’s snoring and the increasingly loud clatter of the engine working together to keep Poe from sleep. Unable to maneuver his legs out from under him, as had been the plan, he tried to control his breathing through the pain of his knees and skin pressing onto the grating.

Caught off guard, the way the ship suddenly and violently lurched to a stop out of hyperspace was enough to throw Poe forward, his wrists straining against the cuffs, his knees scraping against the durasteel beneath him.

Through the discomfort, he took small joy in the way the bounty hunter had been launched off his seat and directly onto the control console.

The ship’s alarms began to wail almost immediately, the warning lights above them swallowing the cockpit in an oppressive red glow.

“ – the fuck?!” the bounty hunter shouted, gathering his bearings. Poe was too concerned about his own injuries to see the fresh gash that had opened on the bounty hunter’s temple, though he did notice the magenta droplets of blood that painted the floor as his captor sped by him to the back of the ship.

 _So, not entirely human_ , he noted.

Poe groaned below the gag, annoyed by the string of expletives that were pouring out of the engine room.

_If the nerfherder had any sense in the world, he would’ve noticed the noise before we got to this point…_

“Kriff, fuck! KRIFF!” The bounty hunter had returned to the cockpit, nearly tripping over the chain pulled tight against Poe’s right arm as he paced nervously through the small space, slamming his fist into whichever surface was closest. Thankfully, he had been able to turn off the alarm.

“That’s it. We’re dead in the water. Fucking life support is completely fried. Not like we need goddamned air or anything! Fuck!” He swung at another panel on the wall. “Fuck, kriff! Game kriffing _over_!”

Poe strained his neck up to look at him, hoping to somehow convince the bounty hunter to listen, using only his eyes. “ _Mmmpf_ ”

His captor rubbed his temples in clear frustration. “Man, we’re dead. We’re fucking dead and I am definitely not in the mood right n–”

“ _Mmmpf!_ ” Poe replied, insistent eyes straining up at the humanoid, gesturing back to the engine room as far as the chain around his neck would allow. “ _Mmmpf_!”

The bounty hunter barked out a nervous laugh. “What, you think _you_ can fix it?”

“ _Mmmpf,_ ” Poe replied, nodding wildly.

“Bantha shit. You don’t even know what broke.”

Annoyed, Poe pointed his head as best he could towards the holo-bounty of himself that was clearly visible on the middle of the ship’s dashboard.

The bounty hunter eyed him suspiciously before walking to the console to grab it. He read it over out loud, his tone skeptical.

“Poe Dameron,” he began, “Bounty: 500,000 credits. Date of Birth: 2 ABY. Affiliation: Resistance Pilot. Callsign: Black Leader.” He paused, looking down at his captive disdainfully. “And?”

“ _Mmmpf_ ,” Poe insisted, imploring him to continue reading. He had never wished so hard in his life to have use of his smart mouth than in that moment.

The bounty hunter sighed in exaggeration before reading on. “Parents were _blah blah_ and _who cares_ , something something…” he trailed off as Poe cursed under his breath at him. “…rose through the ranks, becoming a commander for the New Republic, earning the reputation of being extremely skilled with droids and ships of all classifications, notoriously known to be able to fly any…”

His voice grew quiet as he seemed to understand what his bounty was trying to tell him. He kneeled in front of Poe again, gripping his jaw to pull the pilot up to look him directly in the eyes. Poe winced as the collar pressed unforgivingly against the nape of his neck.

“Are you saying you can fix this, Poe Dameron of the Resistance?”

Again, Poe nodded emphatically.

“And if I remove this gag, you’re going to explain the situation to me without exacerbating my _motherfucker of a day_?”

Poe nodded, slowly, to show he could be calm. Feeling the buckle unlatch and the gag fall away, he took a deep breath, licking his dry lips and adjusting his jaw back to free movement.

“Well?” The bounty hunter wasted no time getting back to business.

Poe locked eyes with him again. “I can fix this, I can get the air flowing,” he choked out, breathless. “Let me look at the engine.”

“No. Tell me the problem.”

Poe scoffed. “I’m good with ships but I’m not kriffing _psychic_ –”

“Alright then, the gag goes back on –”

Poe shook his head and desperately pulled at the chains around his wrists. “Wait! Wait. I know you don’t trust me. I know that you think I’d do anything to get out of this situation. Which is, frankly, absolutely 100% correct. But! _But_ , I don’t want to go out this way. I don’t want to die from lack of oxygen as a captive in derelict space.” He took another deep breath as he tried to gain his bearings, hoping his words were getting through to whoever this guy was. “I’m just as invested in getting this ship working as you are. At least if I reach our destination there’s hope of survival, and we’re not just sitting here scowling at each other and using up all the air.”

A moment of silence hung between them before the bounty hunter lowered his gaze at his captive and moved to unshackle his wrists. Poe exhaled at the relief from the pressure, rubbing the sore, bruised skin around each. He patiently waited for the bounty hunter to unlatch his neck and was surprised when his captor instead unhooked the chain from the floor, wrapped the slack around his fist, and pulled Poe to his feet quite ungracefully. Poe yelped in shock as the feeling flooded back through his nerves. His legs had almost gone numb in the hours spent lashed to the floor, and they nearly collapsed from underneath him more than once as he tried to stand.

“Come with me,” the bounty hunter commanded, yanking on the chain around Poe’s neck as he led him back to the engine room. Poe stumbled a few times before finding his bearings, holding back the urge to mutter curses at the man holding the pilot’s fate in his grey hands. If he was going to get out of this in one piece, he needed to find this guy’s good side and stay on it.

When they reached the engine room, a long but cramped space barely capable of holding the two men standing in it, the bounty hunter tied the end of the chain to the grating high up the back wall. Impatiently, he gestured towards the engine.

From where Poe stood, he could make out that there was very clearly a problem. Mainly, that there were parts that were supposed to be moving, that weren’t. Beyond that, though –

“Well? Mr. Hotshot Engine Guy? You saw the engine, so… fix it,” the bounty hunter said, anxiously shaking his right leg and snapping his fingers in front of Poe’s face.

It was the first time Poe had been able to get a clear look at the man who abducted him. The kid seemed young, maybe in his early 20s. He was dressed inconspicuously in a jacket, black shirt, and dark brown pants, an outfit nearly matching Poe’s own. The gash in his forehead had stopped bleeding, though it left a dark pink trail down the side of his face. His teeth were almost pointed at the ends, and he covered whatever was under his head with a knitted black hat. He was also impossibly tall for the compact ship; the pilot felt like his captor was always crowding him, even from across the room.

Poe was in the middle of trying to identify the man’s species when the bounty hunter snapped his fingers again, taking a step forward towards Poe in frustration.

“Man, I knew you didn’t know a fuckin’ thing about how to help,” he said with a scowl, reaching to retrieve the chain from the wall.

“Sorry, sorry! Just a little dizzy, sorry,” Poe said, regaining his composure and pointing forward towards the engine. “If you’re going to keep me back here, then you’re going to have to be my eyes. Tell me what you see.”

The bounty hunter huffed and shot Poe a mean look before turning around to examine the engine. “What am I looking for here, man?”

Poe craned his neck to get a decent look at the machine. “Let’s start with the basics: is anything missing or hanging off of it?”

He watched the bounty hunter scour the engine, reaching in and pulling off a piece no larger than a Harris wrench. He held it up to Poe with a confused look on his face.

“Shit,” Poe replied, “was that bit damaged? Is there anything else?”

“It’s all I can see in here, man. Why, is that bad?”

Poe dragged both hands down his face. Yeah, it was bad. “That’s the kriffing compression coil. _Of course_. Without that, we’re basically drifting until our air runs out. Can I look at it?”

The bounty hunter walked the piece over, making sure to keep an eye on Poe in case he decided to use it as a weapon. “So, we’re fucked?”

Poe nodded, turning the part over in his hands. “I mean, we’re fucked if we don’t fix it as soon as possible. And this piece is unfixable, so, unless you have a spare somewhere, we need to get a new one. Where are we?”  

His captor shot him a cautious look before running back to the cockpit for their coordinates, and Poe slyly tested the hold of the chain in his absence. It didn’t take a very strong pull to figure out there was no give. He had a multitool in his jacket for exactly these situations, but to his surprise the bounty hunter had been smart enough to relieve him of it while he was unconscious. _Great_.

Poe was only alone for a minute before the bounty hunter returned, datapad in hand.

“Looks like we’re… basically near nowhere. The Tion Cluster region. Shit. I mean, I guess we’re near Dellalt, which is full of nearly a billion disgusting amphibious lizard xenos. Fuck, man. We’re done, aren’t we? Kriffing fuck hell.”

“Hey, buddy, listen,” Poe began, trying to calm his captor down, “this isn’t so bad. Dellalt has a couple moons, right? If I know anything about moons, and I should, since I grew up on one, there are good odds that at least one is habitable, what with a billion residents crammed onto the planet below.”

The man turned to face him and Poe could sense the tenuous hold he had on his panic start to give.

“We’re objects in space, man. How do you suggest we even get to one of the moons? Paddle?”

Even though Poe had never been in this _particular_ predicament before, he was still one of the galaxy’s most capable pilots, a genuine reservoir of cunning and skill. It didn’t take long for a potential solution or two to bubble to the surface.

“Let’s… ask for a lift. You got a distress beacon up there?” he asked, choking on the last word after taking a step forward and forgetting about his tether to the wall. “The Outer Rim is teeming with traffic. Maybe we can get a tow?”

The bounty hunter paused, looking Poe up and down before stepping towards him and crowding into his space. With a firm hand he grabbed the chain, yanking Poe’s head back as he towered over him. Grey lips pulled back over sharp teeth in a feral display of dominance.

“I was warned about you, pilot. I know you’re some Resistance poster boy, some tough shit fighter pilot who’s just so good at talking their way out of whatever, and I know you think you can pull one over on me now. It’s not going to happen, man. The minute I get _even an inkling_ that you’re trying to play me, I break both of your hands and both of your legs. Are we clear?”

The sudden attack had pulled Poe off balance, knocking him back on his heels as he struggled to keep upright. He raised his hands in surrender, hoping again to calm the man who could end his life at the slightest provocation.  

“Hey! Buddy, I’m not trying to pull anything!” he replied, trying to slow his panicked breaths. “Honestly, the only thing I’m trying to pull is _us_ to a planet to get this ship moving again, I _swear_.”

After a full moment of tense silence, the bounty hunter’s grip on the chain released, allowing Poe to somehow regain his composure as his captor moved to the front of the ship to send the distress signal. Poe didn’t dare test the chain again in the bounty hunter’s absence; if he was going to get himself out of this situation, it’d be far easier with unbroken bones.

He let the rapidly-dwindling oxygen fill his lungs as many times as his racing heart required to find its natural rhythm. Another slew of curses emptied out of the cockpit, and Poe knew almost immediately what that meant.

“Well,” the bounty hunter sighed, leaning against the doorframe to the engine room, “might’ve been a good idea, this tow thing. ‘Cept it’s completely barren out there. Not even a blip on the nav, man. Either everyone is cloaked, or it’s a ghost town.”

The two locked eyes again, briefly, before the bounty hunter began advancing towards Poe.

“Now, I hate to do this, but if we have limited air I’m not really interested in sharing it. I’d vent you, but might lose some oxygen in the process. Sorry it had to come to this, man, honestly,” he said, reaching for his blaster.

Poe’s hands shot into the air, and he didn’t even try to disguise the way they shook in fear.

“Stop! _Please_! Just… Hang on, dammit! I’m the best fucking pilot you will ever kriffing meet, alright? I. Can. Fix. This. Please, just – kriff! – let me at least _look_ at the engine before you shoot a hole through me, okay? _Please_?”

It wasn’t the first time he had begged for his life, but there was something about this guy that made his blood run cold. Unassuming at first, he seemed to turn to violence and anger in an instant. Poe could usually charm his way out of most situations but things had not been going his way with this guy, which was worth worrying about.

Before he even realized what was happening, the blaster was holstered and the chain was being pulled forward, and him along with it. They stopped abruptly in front of the engine, and the bounty hunter gestured impatiently for Poe to get to work.

He took inventory of the room, noting which tools were available to him [ _none_ ], and what he could possibly repurpose to replace the part [ _nothing_ ]. There was a potential solution, one Poe didn’t even want to say out loud, but he still wasn’t ready to die yet, so what choice did he have?

“There’s…” he began, trying to will his mouth to just _get the words out_ , “something we can try. It completely sucks, but… how close are we to Dellalt’s nearest moon?”

“Nav says ten minutes, maybe 15,” came the reply.

Poe let out a long breath. “Alright, well. Here’s what we can do. One of us needs to act as a temporary catalyzer in the compression coil’s absence. I assume there’s no way you’re going to let me pilot this, right?”

The bounty hunter’s dark yellow eyes nearly rolled out of his head in response.

“Of course, I figured. Now, we’re going to have to work together on this, and you’re going to have to actually listen to my instructions if you want to get to that moon. I’m going to be in a lot of pain and I need you to not hesitate or fight me on any of this, okay?”

Something about this plan seemed to intrigue his captor, who nodded earnestly down at Poe.  

“Alright, half-a-million, what do you need from me?”

“Bring me those shackles I had on earlier, with the chain removed. The plan is to basically replace the part with my arms, and I need protection for my skin.”

Poe’s traveling companion flew to the front and back in an instant, locking the thick cuffs around Poe’s wrists once more, the _click_ of each latching closed sending a cold, familiar chill down his spine. Though they weren’t locked together and he knew the bonds were necessary if they had any hope of surviving. His arms were still sore, and he didn’t much care for the thought of giving the bounty hunter even _more_ of an upper hand. Fortunately, the neck chain had been removed, along with the collar.

The bounty hunter stepped back, looking down at Poe like a curious child awaiting instruction. Poe had to keep reminding himself that the guy was a threat, even though he didn’t seem like one most of the time.

“Okay, so, what’s your name?” Poe asked, pulling the cuffs up to the part of his arm that would likely suffer the most in the machine.

His captor scoffed. “Why do you need to know my name, _Poe Damero_ n?”

“I’m going to be yelling instructions up to you, and I want it to be clear when I’m addressing you.”

The bounty hunter seemed to take his time thinking about it before finally replying, “Omax’tuji. My name is Omax’tuji.”

“Omax’tuji, eh? What is that, Twi’lek?”

“None of your kriffing business, Poe Dameron,” Omax’tuji replied, jabbing a finger at Poe’s shoulder.

“Alright, alright!” He was unintentionally riling this guy up again, which wasn’t good if he wanted to survive this. “Is Omax’tuji short for something? Or can I call you Omax?”

“Omax is fine.”

Poe nodded up to him. “Okay, Omax. Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to stick my left arm in to the spot where the compression coil usually goes, then I’m going to reach over with my right arm to the regulator, with my body acting as the conduit for the energy flow.” He winced at the thought of how painful it was going to be, the memory of accidentally figuring it out while doing engine work back at the Resistance base one he would _definitely_ never forget. “Now, I won’t be able to survive the full amount of time it will take to get to that moon, but I think we can hop there in spurts. Before we start, I’m going to need you to aim us _exactly_ where we need to be, then give it a quick, hard charge forward. It’ll likely take twice as long to get there, but this is the only option we have, and there should be more than enough air left for both of us. I’ll stay back here in case we need to readjust our path, but please, buddy, little spurts, okay?”

Omax laughed. “You’re a maniac, man. Do you know that?”

A nervous chuckle was Poe’s response, one born from a mix of fear and annoyance. “Alright, can we just get this done?”

“Sure man, sure.”

Omax returned to the cockpit and Poe could feel the weight of the ship shift beneath him as they pointed to their destination.

“Poe Dameron!” Omax shouted back, “We are aimed!”

“Great, Omax, good! Alright, I’m going to stick my arms in, and when I yell ‘go’, I need you to turn the thrusters on and hold down the gas for no longer than _ten seconds_ , okay?”

“Yeah, got it!”

“Yell it back to me, Omax!”

“I’m going to turn the thrusters on and hold the gas for ten seconds!”

Poe nodded to himself, anxiously. He rubbed his hands together, hoping this wasn’t the last time he’d see them in one piece. Swallowing his trepidation, he reached down into the hole left by the compression coil then stretched his other arm to reach the regulator, making sure each point of contact touched against the durasteel restraints, not his skin.

“You ready up there, Omax?” he yelled.

“Ready!”

Taking a deep breath, he braced himself.

“GO!”

He could feel the shock course through him almost instantly, igniting the nerves around his wrists as the engine roared to life. The craft lunged forward, nearly throwing Poe off his feet as his arms burned from the strain, fingers trying desperately to avoid the moving, grinding parts of the engine. Poe let out a choked gasp from the pressure, counting the seconds as they passed.

_…1…_

_…2…_

_…Fuck. Fuck…_

_…5…_

_…6…_

_…Force, this hurts…_

_…9…_

_…10…_

_…11…_

All at once, the tension released and he collapsed to the floor, struggling to catch his breath as the room spun around him. His arms ached from the lingering pain but he rose to his feet, verifying that his skin and fingers were unbroken before begrudgingly returning his arms to their required position in case another push was needed.

“Wooo! It worked! Fuckin’ crazy, man!”

There was a level of joy pouring out of the cockpit that Poe struggled to match, his mind and body focusing more on bracing himself for the inevitable upcoming pain he was willingly subjecting himself to, while still trying to ride out the wave of the last surge.

“Hey, Poe Dameron, you dead back there?” More laughter.

 _Yeah, real fuckin’ funny_ , Poe thought to himself.

“I’m here,” he coughed out. “I’m in position if we need to boost again but give me a heads up, okay? And try to keep it under ten seconds, if you can?”

“Yeah, man! HA!” came the response from the front of the ship. Definitely unsettling.

The two cruised without incident until Dellalt’s nearest moon was finally close enough to spot from the ship.

“Poe Dameron!” the bounty hunter shouted back to him, “Come look!”

Happy to remove his arms from the guts of the engine, Poe limped to the cockpit as Omax requested. The entire front window was engulfed by the nauseating swamp green of their destination.

“Nav readout says the moon doesn’t have an official name, but there are close to a million inhabitants down there.”

Poe nodded to himself. “Do we know what species?”

Omax shrugged. “Doesn’t say. There are cities, though, which means trading outposts, so hopefully they’ll have our part. There’s a dark side that never turns towards their sun, and we’re heading to the largest outpost on that side. Light side is too hot, apparently. Now, get back to the engine, man. I need to use the landing gear to set ‘er down and that requires power.”

“You don’t want to maybe switch, buddy?”

“I can drag you back if you’d like, Poe Dameron.”

Poe waved his hand, defeated, returning to the engine room and placing his arms back in the machine.

“You gonna let me know when we –”

“Here we go!” Omax shouted before firing up the controls once more, indifferent to the currents coursing agonizingly through Poe’s body.

It took 31 seconds to finally touch down just outside of the moon’s most populated city, the rough landing a further insult to the injury Poe sustained upon impact when his arm was knocked off balance, searing a burn up his forearm. By the time Omax turned off the power, the pilot was left gasping from the tightness in his chest. Coughing, he collapsed onto his hands and knees on the floor of the engine room as he struggled for breath. He barely registered being pulled to his feet, or the that his loose cuffs were replaced with a pair that locked together tight in front of him.

“C’mon, man. We’re here,” came the voice above him as he was pushed forward towards the hatch in the floor leading to the cargo compartment.

The world spun around him as he tried not to vomit, his arms and legs sore and tight. He watched his hands clench and unclench in front of him, his muscles working through the aftershocks of his time as an organic engine component.

“Where’re – you leaving me? Here?” he croaked out, trying to stay part of the plan. He couldn’t let the bounty hunter regain full control again, he needed to remain an active player in this game.

Omax shook his head as he reached for the door controls. “Nah, man. You’re coming with me. You know this shit and I’m not dumb enough to leave some great pilot alone on my ship, even if it is broken. Now, wake up. You got work to do.”

Poe looked up at the bounty hunter as he was guided over to the ramp by a blaster prodding the small of his back.

“People are going to wonder about our situation, Omax. Going to ask a lot of questions about why you’re traveling with someone that’s either valuable or wanted.”

“Fine,” came the reply. “Give me your hands.”

Poe wasn’t sure what he expected, but a small towel draped over his hands was definitely low on the list.

“Hold your hands together in front of you, or hang on to something. No one will be able to tell. Plus, it’s night. No one will give a shit, man. Now come on. We’re due at Alzoc III in five days and I won’t let you stall me through the rendezvous. Move.”

Poe blinked through his frustration, trying to gather himself back up for whatever was out there as he watched the ship’s ramp slowly descend in front of them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mild, mild threat of non-con. Nothing explicit, which is why I didn't tag it. If you'd like it tagged, let me know!

The heat hit first, flooding the cargo compartment like a furnace, causing both bounty hunter and bounty to stumble back in surprise.

Even Poe, who had grown up in the unforgiving jungles of Yavin IV, had never experienced a heat so oppressively thick. The air was breathable, but only barely.

“ _Fuck you on Life Day!_ ” Omax spat out at no one, pawing at the sweat that was already gathering on his forehead. “Those kriffing swamp xenos and their kriffing climate! Do us all a favor and live on a sun, you like the heat so fucking much, damn.”

The two had touched down on the edge of the city in a crowded ship dock. For all the people trading and working and conversing in the landing area, none appeared to have heard the bounty hunter’s string of very pointed curses, for which Poe was extremely thankful; the last thing they needed was a mob of angry pirates on a backwater moon on their case, and them with no working ship to escape on.  

Poe tensed as they descended the ramp and were met by a large, evergreen looking fellow in a brown cloak, with dark orange eyes and a long jaw lined with crooked teeth. He approached them with his hands in his coat, his eyes darting back and forth nervously as he waited for the ramp behind them to close.

When he finally realized Omax wasn’t going to address the situation, Poe spoke up. “Hey, buddy, look, we don’t want any trouble. We’re just here for to buy for some engine parts, so –”

“ _NO_!” the creature shouted in perfect Basic, suddenly spooked. " _I had this sand in my pocket_! _Now it is your problem_!"

Both hands flew out of his robe and, true to his word, both were filled with sand. He grabbed Poe’s hands in his own, turning them over and letting the sand change owners.

With an urgent nod, he twisted on his heels and took off on a full sprint, disappearing through the shipyard.

Poe looked down at his handfuls of sand, part of him hoping he would find some kind of answer among the tiny sparkling grains. His contemplation was interrupted by a confused cacophony of ridicule from Omax behind him, always one to speak his mind when it wasn’t needed.

“What the fuck was that, man? Can you even believe that? Wow, that was kriffing weird. You gonna hang on to that sand, Poe Dameron?”

_How did I get here?_ Poe thought to himself, letting his hands fall in front of him as the sand formed a neat little pile at his feet.

“This moon’s a trip, man. Let’s go.” The blaster digging into his back reminded Poe of why they were there in the first place, and they continued forward.

The city had gone through a _very_ recent terra-formation; sprouts of grass lined the edges of the makeshift pathways, the air felt heavy from the heat, and the clouds above them crackled with thunder. Local plant life from the planet below appeared to have been carted in to supplement what was missing in the burgeoning environment, and sickly fluorescent lights buzzed over every shop stall.

“Have you ever been to a place like this, Omax?” Poe asked as they wandered through the market, dodging species of all types that paid no attention to Poe’s current abductee status.

“Nah, but I’ll bet you have. You seem the reckless adventuring type. Probably how you pissed the First Order off, yeah? Stole one of their ugly human princesses or rubbed the bad side of a Captain or something? Now, keep an eye open for a shop with our part, man. We ain’t here on holiday.”

The two peeked through shop windows for what felt like hours before Poe spotted their part, smooth and shiny and flexisteel with a turadium lining. The piece looked brand new, and was likely going to cost them far more credits than they had planned for.

“Omax, here,” Poe said, planting his feet and pulling them to a stop, using his bound hands to point as inconspicuously as possible at the small shop to their left. “That’s the part we need. How much do you have on you?”

The bounty hunter shrugged his shoulders and pushed Poe on towards the shop. “Well, I either have enough or we take the part in exchange for a blue bolt to their head. C’mon.”

“ _Carajo de mierda_ , Omax, you can’t just kill people if they have something you want.”

Omax poked Poe between his shoulder blades with the blaster, hurrying him forward. “Shut up, man. We’re getting that part.”

Pushing Poe through the door, the two entered the shop. It was a cramped, dimly-lit space, entirely filled with various pieces and parts. It reeked of engine oil, the smell exacerbated by the thick heat. Behind the counter sat an overly large, rather vacant-looking Dellaltian in a dirty white sleeveless shirt. He didn’t even glance over at Poe and Omax until Omax reached down and grabbed the compression coil. Poe could hear the click of the door locking next to them, the sign of a remote switch installed by a store owner far too tired of seedy types trying to run out with unpaid-for merchandise.

Sighing, Omax pushed Poe forward to the Dellaltian and set the part on the counter with a soft _thud_.

“We’re looking to buy this item right here, my guy. How much?” he asked, leaning onto the counter like someone pretending to be confident.

Without breaking eye contact, the Dellaltian reached up with one webbed hand and flipped the piece over, pointing to the _10,000 Cr_. tag at the bottom of the compression coil. Poe gasped. Omax laughed.

“10,000 credits?! Are you out of your kriffing mind?” he asked, laughing again. “C’mon man, surely we can work out a deal here. Let’s say… 2,500 credits.”

The Dellaltian shook his head, making to pull the piece back with him behind the counter.

“Man, 2,500’s all I’ve got. Maybe we can work something out here? I have this slave,” Omax continued, pulling at Poe’s jacket. “We’re due back home on Alzoc III in a few days but he could help out around here for a day or two. He’s got ship knowledge. Seems capable with engines. Or, if you’re of the human persuasion, he could also ‘ _help out_ ’, if you know what I mean,” he added with a wink. “Human labor and pleasure service is very sought after in these parts, trust me. Definitely worth more than the extra 7,500, depending on what you’d want to do with him. Just don’t damage him and we’re square.”

Poe couldn’t even shout out to defend himself from Omax’s proposition before the blaster returned to his back, with Omax’s long fingers holding the back of his neck in a bruising grip.

The Dellaltian looked both of them up and down, studying Poe with a silent intensity that made the pilot’s skin crawl.

“Play,” came his response, a deep, guttural noise similar to a mallet smashing against duracreet.

“ _Play_ , as in…?” Omax asked, gesturing to Poe.

The Dellaltian shook his head. “Play,” he said again, pulling four small squares from an unidentified pocket below the counter. “Play. _Play_.”

“Ohhh, you want to play Cijreo Dice?”

The creature nodded. “Play.”

“For the part if I win? And if I lose?” The Dellaltian looked down at Omax, then over at Poe. “Ah. If I lose, you get the pleasure of his company for… two days?” The creature shrugged, indifferent but agreeable.

“Deal.” Omax holstered his blaster, pulling Poe to a floor-to-ceiling pipe several feet away and re-cuffing his arms around it.

Poe leaned in, trying to control the tremor in his voice. “ _What the hell, Omax_?!” he whispered, “Do you even know how to play this game?”

“Seen it played in some ports. Never played it myself. How hard can it be, Poe Dameron? Now, shut up and sit tight, man.”

From the corner of the room Poe watched the two throw their dice and place their bets, though Omax didn’t appear to have any grasp of the rules; there was far more cussing coming from Omax than there was any expression coming from the Dellaltian, who seemed nearly professional at the game. Hand after hand they rolled, with the Dellaltian collecting more and more money until the entire pile of 2,500 credits in the middle was gone.  

When the Dellaltian looked up at Poe, then over to Omax, Poe began pulling violently at the cuffs around his wrists. He grunted in exasperation, scanning the room for a tool he could use, anything he could get his hands on to defend himself. A foot away he spotted a short, moderately sharp-looking portion of an electrical board discarded on the ground, likely a piece of trash. It was small enough that he could hide it in his boot or in his belt, if it came down to it.

He had just reached out his foot towards the part when Omax appeared at his side, kicking the piece away.

“Nice try, man. Now c’mon, we’re leaving,” said Omax, plopping the compression coil into Poe’s hand after releasing him from around the pipe and re-locking his hands in front of him.

“Wait, what?” Poe asked, thoroughly confused. He looked up at the Dellaltian behind the counter. The creature raised one slimy hand and waved back at the two, with something that looked like a smile gracing his long, green face.

“Turns out,” Omax explained, pushing Poe forward out the door, “the guy just wanted someone to play Dice with. Still took the full 2,500, _typical xeno_ , but wasn’t interested in anything else. Lucky you!”

“Yeah, lucky me,” Poe snapped, sarcastically.

The return trip to the ship was much faster, with the pair stopping only once so Omax could grab some pungent, spiky fruit from a merchant, using credits he claimed to not have when bartering with the compression coil vendor. For his part, Poe did the best he could to not argue with or agitate the bounty hunter; whatever species Omax was, he was easily stronger than Poe and could overpower him in a fight. It wouldn’t do to try and escape on the Dellalt moon, though; Omax wasn’t kidding when he reminded the parts dealer that humans were highly sought after for unseemly uses in this system.

The two reached the ship without incident, beyond Poe nearly vomiting from the smell of the disgusting fruit Omax was messily shoveling into his mouth.

“Would you look at that?” the bounty hunter exclaimed when they reached the ship, “Gone all that time and no one tried to fuck with our ride.”

Poe wasn’t listening. The pile of sand from their earlier encounter with the stranger had been disturbed by someone who had left a rather sizeable boot print in the middle of it, with bits of sand sifting down the ramp as Omax lowered it.

“Uh, Omax. Maybe we should hold on a minute.” Poe looked deep into the hold of the ship, the more reliable bits of his memory insisting that they had left at least a _few_ lights on before they ventured into the market. He reached out for the bounty hunter, trying to keep his voice low in case anyone was listening. “Omax, _stop_. I think there’s someone on the ship.”

“You stallin’, Poe Dameron? Afraid of a little darkness? C’mon, man, we got places to be.” Omax responded, chewing up the last bits of the stink fruit.

“Look,” Poe replied, “the sand. There’s a footprint in it, and there’s sand coming out of the ship. Someone’s been on board and there’s a good possibility they haven’t left yet; we weren’t gone long. Can you at least get out your blaster? Be ready, in case I’m right?”

“Poe Dameron, stop wasting my time. Let’s go.”

Poe sighed in exasperation, planting his feet and holding fast against Omax’s bruising grip. “Listen, dammit. Have I been wrong yet? About anything? Just get your blaster out in case there’s someone on board, Omax. _Please_.”

The bounty hunter stared down at Poe, unamused. With his free hand he rubbed at his temple before reaching for his blaster. “If you’re wrong I’m gagging you again, man. Had enough of this bantha shit, I swear it. Now, get in the kriffing ship before I break your knees and pull you in by your hair.”

Reluctantly, Poe staggered forward. Hearing the ramp close behind him sent a shiver through his bones as the unknown darkness loomed in front of them. The bounty hunter left his side briefly and Poe heard the clicking of what he assumed to be the light switch. When no light followed, he stepped back against the ramp and held his arms out in defense, hoping whoever was on board couldn’t see them any better than they could see it.

“Poe Dameron!” Omax shouted in his general direction. “Do you think the lights have something to do with our engine problem?”

“No, not really,” Poe shouted back, his eyes adjusting to the lack of light. “I think we’re probably not alone on this ship.”

“Enough, Poe Dameron. I’ve had it with your wild theories, man. Now let’s just take the part back up to the engine and – _unf_!”

Poe heard Omax’s muffled shout before he heard what sounded like someone crashing to the floor, hard. He placed the new part on the ground and worked his way over to the scuffle, his hands searching ahead of him blindly while still cuffed together.

“Omax!? Omax are you okay? I can’t see you! Where are you?” The cargo hold wasn’t very large but he still had no idea where the bounty hunter was or what he was tangling with.

“Poe Dameron! _Hngg_ – here! I’m – _kriffing bastard_ – I’m over – _unff_ – over here!”

Adjusting to the darkness he could make out the two figures grappling with each other against the wall, their bodies barely illuminated by the dim light from the hold above them. He considered throwing himself at the attacker and hoping for the best before nearly tripping over something on the floor. Poe reached down for it, pulling up a long, heavy pipe. Gripping it tightly in his cuffed hands, he took a deep breath and lunged forward, swinging the makeshift weapon down onto the back of the unknown menace on top of Omax. The pipe connected with a _-crack-_ and he heard the attacker groan and collapse to the floor.

Omax crawled out from underneath the weight of the figure, pushing them off and running toward a toolbox in the corner where he pulled out a shop torch, finally filling the room with soft light. He looked over at Poe as they both tried to catch their breath. Poe was still holding the pipe in his hands and Omax eyed him cautiously.

“Been awful endearing recently, Poe Dameron. Knowing ship parts, fucking up this guy just now. Don’t go ruining it by doing something stupid, man.”

Poe didn’t want to admit it, but the bounty hunter had him bested at the moment; he wouldn’t be able to get very far against someone of Omax’s strength, not with his hands still tied together and only a pipe for a weapon. Reluctantly, he dropped the object, hoping he wasn’t resigning himself to a future with a First Order interrogation droid by giving up his only resource for escape so easily.

“Smart, Poe Dameron. Very smart,” Omax said with a smile. “Kick it over here, would you kindly?”

Poe complied, hating himself for not even trying to fight back.

Omax picked up the pipe and walked over to the attacker, who wasn’t moving. He kicked at the creature’s shoulder, turning it onto his back. It was another Dellaltian, covered with striped skin and wirier than the ones they had seen in the shipyard, its face scarred and weathered.

The bounty hunter waved a hand at Poe, pointing back at the ramp. “Stand against the wall.”

Poe did as he was instructed, watching Omax set the pipe and torch down as he inspected the unconscious Dellaltian in the cargo hold.

“Looks like he found your bounty,” Omax said, pulling a small datapad out of the assailant’s coat, along with several weapons. “What the shit? This guy’s coat is _filled_ with knives.”

“Crazy,” Poe replied sarcastically, holding himself back from the litany of ‘I-told-you-so’s he felt like unleashing at his naïve captor.

Before Poe could protest, Omax stood and pulled out his blaster, firing two shots directly into the Dellaltian’s head.

“Omax!” Poe shouted, “Why would y –?! You could’ve let him go! You didn’t have to kill him.”

The bounty hunter re-opened the cargo hold and kicked the intruder’s body down the ramp, ignoring the smear of white blood it left behind. Closing the door, he reached out and grabbed Poe’s arm, dragging him back to the main cabin of the ship.

“Stop talking, Poe Dameron. He fucked up when he got on my ship, man. Let’s go. We’re behind schedule.”

Poe’s shoulders dropped in defeat as he allowed Omax to shuffle him back up to the engine room. He quietly replaced the compression coil under Omax’s supervision, letting out a small sigh of relief when the engine roared back to life and cool air began circulating through the ship. After a too-strong clap on the back for fixing the engine, the bounty hunter pushed him forward towards the cockpit. Once there, Omax worked to reorganize the setup he had held Poe in originally. Until that moment, Poe hadn’t even thought about having to be restrained on his knees again.

“Please, Omax,” he pleaded, trying to not sound too pathetic, “I helped you get this thing moving again. I saved our lives _twice_. Isn’t there anywhere else I could go?”

To his surprise, the bounty hunter actually appeared to be giving it some consideration.

“I still don’t trust you, man. You seem to find weapons with a frequency I’m not exactly comfortable with. Also, you may have saved our lives, but I’m still collecting that bounty.” He looked around the small cockpit, stopping at the grating on the back wall separating it from the hallway to the engine room. With a sigh, he removed the chain set up from the floor, threading a short length of it behind Poe’s head and attaching a cuff on each side to Poe’s raised arms. He glanced at the burn on Poe’s arm before locking it in.

“When did this happen?”

“On the way here,” Poe replied. “Rough landing knocked me out of position.”

“Hmm.” Omax looked away, feigning indifference. He pulled at the bindings, making sure each was secure. “Don’t go getting any ideas that we’re going to be all friendly and I’m just going to let you go.”

Poe let out a breath of defeat but nodded at Omax, genuinely thankful for not having to be forced back to his knees. The burn on his arm still hurt, but not enough to bother questioning Omax about helping him get it treated. He learned quickly not to push his luck with this one. They still had several days of time ahead of them before they reached their destination.

Omax settled into the pilot’s seat, adjusting the chair to his comfort and taking a few pills from a container on the dashboard. Rubbing his head in pain, he fired up the engine and set a course for Alzoc III.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Carajo de mierda_ = fucking shit. Big thanks to my husband, who shouts this all the time.


	3. Chapter 3

They had been flying for the better part of a full day cycle before Omax acknowledged Poe again. Even though the very real dread of his life back in the violent hands of the First Order rooted itself in the forefront of Poe’s mind, he tried to remain quiet while his captor slept.  

The strain on his legs had been nagging him for hours by the time Omax awoke and started banging around the cabin, fixing himself some food and singing to himself softly. Poe’s stomach rumbled a bit too loudly from the smell of whatever Omax was eating, catching the attention of the bounty hunter.

“Poe Dameron, you hungry back there, man?” Omax laughed from where he was lounging in the comfortable-looking pilot’s seat, feet kicked up on the dashboard and a plate of food in his lap.

Poe coughed, his head swimming from exhaustion and dehydration. “A bit, yeah. More thirsty, if you have any water to spare.”

“Alright, hang on.”

To Poe’s surprise, Omax got up and fetched him a bottle of water, gently tipping it back for Poe as he drank as much as was offered. Setting the half-full bottle down on the floor, Omax reached for his plate of food and broke off a bit for Poe. It was a greenish bread that Poe had never seen before, but he was thankful to be fed and it didn’t taste too horrible.

“Thank you, Omax,” he said after chewing through the first bite and locking eyes with the bounty hunter, drawing on the negotiation and appeasement tactics he had learned during the Republic Academy’s hostage negotiation courses. “It really is kind of you to share your food with me.”

“Simple math, you know? I sort of have to spend money on food now to keep you alive because I didn’t spring for the carbonite chamber when buying this damn thing. Though, your bounty will probably go towards helping set this place up a bit better. So, thank _you_ , I guess.” He laughed again.

Poe forced a smile back. He was tired, annoyed, and honestly so mad that he allowed himself to get caught. He was due back on base by now. He hoped someone would have noticed he hadn’t returned yet. The thought of Finn and Wexley and Pava watching the Five Sabers Championship broadcast feed without him tonight, or even missing it out of concern, felt like a shallow loss in the face of what he had in store for him if Omax got him to Alzoc III.

Still, though. He and Finn had been looking forward to that game for a while now.

In reality, Poe had no idea if the game was being broadcast tonight. He wasn’t sure exactly when _now_ was, considering the large chunk of time he missed while unconscious. He didn’t remember much from before he woke up in Omax’s ship, but the last thing he recalled was saying goodbye to his dad and hopping into his X-wing on Yavin IV. Was Kes Dameron’s location common knowledge? Part of him wanted to ask Omax the details surrounding his capture, but he didn’t know if he could bear hearing that something happened to his dad when he had no way of helping.

_Fuck it._

“Hey, Omax?”

The bounty hunter lazily swiveled around in his chair as he chewed on something dark purple.

“I was just… wondering about the specifics. When you got me. Was it just me, or was anyone else caught up in the crossfire?” Poe couldn’t help the slight sentimental tremble in his voice at the thought of his dad, and how he had no idea when or if he’d even see him again.

Omax let the question hang in the air for a beat before responding. “You worried about that droid, man?”

_BB-8!_ Poe cursed himself for forgetting about his tiny astromech copilot.

“Of course. And I’m hoping that no one else was in the line of fire when you… whatever you did.”

“Nah, man,” the bounty hunter replied, rubbing his forehead in pain. “If you must know, I sent a volt or two through your ship, just out of orbit. Pulled you out. Left the ship floating. Droid should be fine. Didn’t run in to anyone else.”

_Thank the stars._

“Okay. Thanks, Omax. I appreciate you letting me know.”

“Sure. You close with your dad or something, man?”

Poe’s breath caught in his chest. “How did you kn–”

Omax swiveled around in his chair to face Poe completely. “You’re worth 500,000 credits, man. I did _some_ research. Don’t worry, he’s safe. You didn’t answer my question, though.”

“What question? Are we close?”

Omax nodded. From what Poe could tell, he seemed genuinely interested in the answer. It was tempting to let his guard down, but the many threats to break his bones held him back.

“We are,” Poe replied, cautiously. “No siblings. Ever since mom died it’s just been me and him.”

“Hmm.”

“Why do you ask, Omax?”

The bounty hunter grunted out a fake laugh. “Always interesting to meet people who like their parents, man. Just bored. Now, shut up. My head is killing me and I don’t need you trying to talk me in to letting you go or pull some kind of talky word trick.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed you’ve been having some problems. Are you wounded?”

“Man, what did I just fuckin’ say?”

“You said your head is killing you, and it seems like it’s been killing you this entire time. I don’t mean to step out of line here, but I’d never let one of my pilots anywhere near a cockpit if they were experiencing this kind of unrelenting, debilitating head pain.”

“Well, I ain’t one of your fuckin’ pilots, Poe Dameron.”

“Listen, Omax. Once again, I’m not trying to pull one over on you,” Poe continued, hands open in surrender. “I’m trying to stay alive, which involves you not crashing us into the side of some meteor because your brain is bleeding, or worse. Now, are you wounded? Is it from the impact out of hyperspace? Do you have an injury that’s gone untreated that I can help fix?”

The bounty hunter eyed him cautiously. “What do you get out of this, Poe Dameron?”

“Like I said earlier when we were running out of air, I’ll have a much higher chance of escaping the First Order if I don’t get killed en route.”

“No one escapes the First Order, man.”

Poe coughed out a small laugh. “One of many reasons they hate me.”

Omax pulled the datapad from the front console, skimming through Poe’s file between disbelieving glances back towards the prisoner chained up on the wall. “Doesn’t say shit about escaping anything, Poe Dameron. Congrats on blowing up whatever a ‘ _Starkiller_ ’ is, though.”

“Of course it doesn’t say I escaped a Star Destroyer via a stolen TIE, with the help of a renegade Stormtrooper. It embarrasses the First Order.”

“Sounds like a total fuckin’ fabrication, man.”

Poe sighed, annoyed but patient. “Then don’t believe me. Fine. It doesn’t change my situation _right now_. What’s the deal with your head, and how can I help?”

“Nothing to be helped,” Omax said, wincing slightly as he pulled the black knitted cap off. Underneath were two uneven stumps, close to the skull and flecked with dried blood near the top, crisscrossed with erratic stitches. It looked horribly painful.

Poe recognized the wounds immediately. “Omax, are you Twi’lek? Did you… did you _cut off_ your lekku?”

“Mmmm,” Omax grunted, bringing a hand up to the wounds before hissing in pain. “Only half-Twi’ anyway. Less sensation than a full blood, and I couldn’t even control them that well. Fuckin’ useless, made me stand out.”

“ _Stars_ , Omax. Why would you risk damaging them at all?”

Omax winced as he rubbed the sensitive skin around the base of the amputations. “Too much of a liability in a fight, man.”

“Then don’t fight!”

“Listen Poe Dameron,” Omax barked, crowding into Poe’s face. “I don’t owe you a fuckin’ explanation for shit.”

“I’m sorry, Omax, I just… I’m sorry you did that. I know how important lek are to your people.”

Omax scoffed. “They ain’t my people, man. Twi’leks have never been good for anything in this galaxy. ‘Nothing but slaves and assistants’ dad would say. It’s a revolting species.”

Poe felt a twinge of sympathy rising in his chest. The guy was clearly in pain, and it sounded like his dad was a real piece of shit.

“Why do you think that way, Omax?”

The bounty hunter rose up out of his seat and sauntered menacingly over to Poe, his hands balled into fists at his side.

“Man, you’re here for me to trade you to the First Order for a shitload of credits, Poe Dameron. My fuckin’ heads hurts enough without you trying to get into it. _Now_ ,” he snarled, grabbing Poe by the face with his long fingers, “ _shut up_.”

Poe felt his head slam back against the grating behind him, then nothing.

\---

The aftershocks of pain eventually woke him, harsh lines radiating out from the impact like tiny bolts of lightning tracing his scalp. He winced as he struggled to find his feet underneath him, his arms and wrists sore from having to support his weight for who knows how long. It hurt to open his eyes but he dragged them open anyway, wincing at even the soft light of the cockpit.

It took him a minute to regain his bearings, his gaze finally settling on the bounty hunter’s hunched figure standing before him. Poe jolted back in surprise, a motion he instantly regretted as the pain in his head roared briefly back to life. Below him, the bounty hunter groaned and gripped his temples as he dropped to his knees on the floor.

“Poe Dameron, man, uuugh, please, it’s worse,” he croaked out, nearly breathless, “ _my head_.”

Poe watched Omax struggle on the ground for a minute, too annoyed by his own Omax-inflicted headache to give a shit. He sighed to himself in resignation before tapping the ground with his foot in an effort to get Omax’s attention. The bounty hunter looked up at him with wet, red-rimmed eyes. He was clearly in a great deal of pain.

“You asking for my help now, Omax?”

The bounty hunter nodded, foolishly, forgetting for a moment that every nerve in his head was already raw and sensitive without being jostled in acknowledgment.

“Uuuugh, kriffing _fuck_. _Yes_ ss, Poe Dameron. Can you help?”

“What the hell happened to you after you smashed my head against the wall?” It took everything within Poe to stop himself from spitting down at his captor.

Omax groaned. “Fell. Stitches tore or something, man. Kriff, it hurts so fucking much Poe Dameron, _please_.”

“The stuff you took off me when you grabbed me. Bring it here.” The pain in his own head had calmed to a dull throbbing, and Poe found he was able to focus a bit more clearly. As Omax shuffled off to wherever he had Poe’s personal effects stashed, Poe could see that he had indeed reopened some wound somewhere, the magenta blood droplets adding a pleasant splash of color to the otherwise plain, dreary interior.

Poe let himself admire the scene for a few moments before looking up at the cockpit and the empty space filled with stars beyond it. His guts clenched slightly, hoping this wasn’t the last time he’d get to see it.

Omax finally returned with his arms full of Poe’s personal effects that he had lifted from Poe’s X-wing, hurriedly placing them on the floor in front of the pilot and returning a hand to the pain in his head.

“Here’s your stuff, man,” he grunted, reaching up to the cuffs around Poe’s wrists and unlocking him.

Relieved at being released without violence and without having to ask, Poe could tell that his captor seemed to truly need help. He wasn’t even allowed to fix the engine without being restrained, and now he was freed when Omax was the most vulnerable? Part of him wanted to reach for Omax’s weapon, disable him, and run for the ship controls.

He looked down at the miserable wretch below him, writhing pathetically on the sharp grating he had lashed Poe to at the beginning of their relationship. He sighed to himself.

_The galaxy, even during its darkest hours, is fundamentally a good place_ , he thought to himself, repeating it out loud as he knelt down and rummaged through his belongings for the small jar of ghhhk salve his mom taught him how to make for emergencies when bacta wasn’t available.

“The galaxy, even during its darkest hours, is fundamentally a good place,” he muttered again, gently turning his captor around to face away from him and removing Omax’s knit cap. He picked up the half-full bottle of water that had been discarded on the floor next to them and used what was left to clear away the oozing pink blood that had snuck its way through the piss-poor excuse for stiches on each of Omax’s lek. With a steady hand, he applied the ghhhk salve to the wounds, waiting for a minute for the mixture to turn cold and blue against the infection before applying more.

_The galaxy, even during its darkest hours, is fundamentally a good place_ , he thought again as he massaged salve into the scalp around the amputations. Poe whispered the mantra to himself a few more times as he felt the tension melt out of Omax’s shoulders. Before closing the jar back up, he pulled a glob out and massaged a bit onto the engine burn running down his arm, finding a small sense of relief as the pain there dissipated.

When the bounty hunter’s whimpering finally tapered off, Poe gave him a soft pat on the arm and rose to his feet.

“There. That’s all I’ve got.”

Omax turned to look up at him, the tears on his cheeks already starting to dry.

“Poe Dameron, I…” He grit his teeth, pushing himself up to once again tower over the pilot. “Good. Well, uh… thanks, man. Thank you.”

Poe nodded, waiting for Omax’s demeanor to change back to the cocky, violent man he’d known for most of this trip. To his surprise, the bounty hunter instead walked back to his giant leather pilot’s chair, where he sat in silence as he stared out at the darkness. Poe was left standing, unrestrained, behind him.

After a few minutes of tense quiet, Omax let out a long, deep breath.

“What was that you were muttering behind me, Poe Dameron?” He kept his eyes focused on the space ahead, seemingly lost in thought.

“Huh? Oh, uh. That the galaxy, even during its darkest hours, is fundamentally a good place,” Poe replied, a bit caught off guard. “My mom used to say it to me every night when she was home. A lot of the rebellion against the First Order or the Empire relied on this kind of belief. On the _hope_ that people were inherently good, you know?”

“Hope, eh?”

“Yeah. Hope.”

“You know I still have to turn you in to the First Order, man.”

Poe sighed. “Yeah.”

“If it matters to you at all, though… I mean, I don’t feel _great_ about it. You seem like a decent human, Poe Dameron. I hope they don’t, you know, kill you.”

“They will,” Poe replied, mournfully. He wasn’t angling for sympathy, it was just a fact.

Omax finally turned around, avoiding eye contact with Poe as he pulled the shackles from the wall behind Poe’s head, gently fastening one end to Poe’s right ankle and the other to the grating below them. He returned to his chair, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. Even hunched, his long, giant frame made him seem like a threat.

Poe moved to sit, rubbing at the redness around his wrists. He slunk back against the wall, cursing himself for not taking his best chance at an escape. He was going to be given to Kylo Ren again, and then he’d probably be tortured to death. Or worse.

“So, what’d you do, man?”

Poe didn’t want to answer any of Omax’s questions but he didn’t want to make him angry again, either, which he seemed extraordinarily good at, somehow. Poe also really liked talking to people, so, screw it.

“It’s like bacta, but from the skin of a ghhhk.”

“No, no. I mean, what’d you do to make the First Order so angry?”

“Oh. I, uh, well. A few things, actually. I already told you I escaped one of their Star Destroyers with the help of a Stormtrooper. But I also blew up their planet-sized weapon.” He tried to laugh at the memory, but the sound came out as more of a groan. “They weren’t so happy about that. Probably the main reason for the bounty.”

“Huh. That the ‘ _Starkiller_ ’ thing it says in your file?” Poe nodded. Omax looked like he sort of believed Poe this time, or was at least finally giving him the benefit of the doubt. “Yeah man, that’d piss me off too.”

“How is your head feeling?” Poe asked, softly, staring down at his hands.

“Five by five, Poe Dameron.”

Poe smiled to himself. “Good.”

“You _are_ a decent human, Poe Dameron. And you’ve helped me now. Twice. People don’t _help_ me, but you can’t stop. I know you won’t believe it, man, but I do feel a bit fuckin’ bad about turning you over.”

Poe didn’t want to talk about this. If he wasn’t getting out, he definitely didn’t want to hear how _guilty_ this bounty hunter felt about it.

“Is it the money that you’re after, Omax? Is that why you have to do this?”

“I mean, yeah, man. Mostly. It’s a lot of credits.”

“Mostly?”

Omax leaned back in his chair like a bored child, letting his arms hang off the sides. “Family stuff, man. Baggage. Dad always wanted me to be tough. This job is tough. I have to be tough to be good at it, even if… I don’t know. Even if it involves this kind of thing,” he explained, waving a hand at Poe.

Poe looked him up and down in response. “You seem tough enough. Speaking as someone on the receiving end of your toughness for these past however many days, I’d say your dad would probably be very proud, if that’s what he wanted you to grow up to be.”

“Three days.” The bounty hunter smiled down at Poe, though there was a sadness there, just under the surface. Picking up on this, Poe decided to push him further.

“You should tell me about your dad, Omax. And your mom. Or, whatever family unit you were raised in.”

To Poe’s complete shock, Omax leaned over to the control panel and turned on the ship’s autopilot. He then crawled out of his chair and took a seat on the floor across from Poe. His moods seemed to fluctuate more dramatically than the weather on Yavin Prime, so Poe pressed his back up against the wall for defense, hoping the bounty hunter wouldn’t lash out at him. Instead, the bounty hunter leaned back on his hands and looked like he wanted to actually talk to Poe, for once. Maybe the headache really was responsible for his anger thus far.

Poe cleared his throat, no longer letting himself feel sorry for his current situation. “Well, you said you’re always interested in meeting people who get along with their parents. Do you not get along with yours?”

“Eh. I don’t know, man. I don’t really talk about this, you know?”

“Seems like you want to get it off your chest, and I’m kind of a captive audience.”

Omax laughed at that.

Poe Dameron, master of puns.

“My dad was human. Mom was Twi’lek. She was… employed by my father. I lived with him, though he wasn’t very fond of me. Didn’t seem too fond of her, either. Lots of ordering her around, that kind of thing. Wouldn’t let her or the other Twi’ near me. One day I just… stopped seeing her. He told me she was sold off-planet.”

“Your father owned your mother? He owned slaves?”

“I mean, yeah man, I guess they were slaves.”

“Hm.”

“There was a revolt. People employed by him weren’t happy with the way he treated them. He caught a blaster bolt between the eyes before they dragged him off. Never saw what they did with the body. Never saw my mom again. Out of curiosity I tracked her down. She’s living on her own now, somewhere on Ryloth. Haven’t gone to see her. Don’t know if she’d recognize me. Don’t especially want to go to Ryloth, either.”

“Why don’t you want to go to Ryloth? It’s the home planet of your people, Omax.”

The bounty hunter looked away, clearly uncomfortable. “Except they’re not really ‘my people’, man. Like I told you, Twi’ aren’t good for anything except as slaves or assistants. Dad wanted me to be better than that. Their species is pathetic, man. I don’t want anything to fuckin’ do with them.”

Poe could sense Omax becoming agitated by his questioning – the literal opposite of Poe’s intention. Thinking quickly, he tried a different approach.

“Hey Omax, you ever hear of the Jedi Master Aayla Secura?”

The bounty hunter shook his head, carefully, eyeing Poe cautiously.

“She’s a personal hero of mine,” Poe continued. “She served in the Clone Wars, and fought in the Battle of Geonosis. Was a pretty big deal in the Jedi circles, if you can believe that.”

“The Jedi? I’ve only heard of them in stories, man.”

Poe laughed. “They’re real. Well, were real. And Aayla Secura was one of the absolute best. Worked closely with other Jedi Masters. They even took down some Sith Lords.”

“Why are you telling me this, Poe Dameron?”

“Because she was amazing, Omax. One of the most skilled Jedi that ever lived. She also had cerulean blue skin and long, grand lekku.”

His mouth open and eyes narrowed, Omax looked like he was about to say something before it caught in his throat. All he could manage to get out was a sound that Poe took as some kind of confused inquiry, gasped out from between inhumanly sharp teeth.  

“I know you have to stay skeptical in this line of work, and it’s probably why you’re still alive. But look her up sometime. The Empire did what they could to scrub all the Jedi from the collective archives, but she’s there if you do a bit of digging or ask the right people. She was incredible.”

Omax turned to look down, shamefully. “You’re my first, Poe Dameron.”

“Your first?”

“My first bounty.”

“Oh,” Poe replied, feeling the heavy shame of getting captured by a rookie. “Well, uh, congrats on getting a high mark on your first try, I guess.”

_Way to go, Poe_.

“I hate this fuckin’ job, man. I get… lonely, you know? And I didn’t last even the full trip before falling down in front of you like some weak xeno. Like the weak xeno I fucking am, man. Pathetic. Fucking pathetic!” Omax screamed, yellow eyes bloodshot, teeth bared.

Poe drew back and braced his arms in front of him, scared by the obvious change in the bounty hunter’s disposition. If Omax physically attacked him again Poe didn’t know if he could stop himself from trying to fight back. Not now, after so many opportunities not taken. Not now, with his arms freed. Not now, with his imminent death their very next stop.

The air was tense between them as Omax took several deep, calming breaths, allowing his features to soften as he relaxed.

“I’m sorry for the way I’ve acted, Poe Dameron. For the threats and all that. Most of it is posturing. Don’t get any ideas, though. I’ve been in a lot of pain. The guy who cut me told me not to go so short, but I was tired of lookin’ at these things, man.”

Poe relaxed a bit in response, though not by much.

Omax barked out a sound similar to a laugh. “I’ve done things, Poe Dameron. Terrible things before this. Because it’s what _he_ wanted. I would’ve been happy settling down somewhere raising blurrgs or something, you know? Maybe working on a farm, man. Not yelling at some pilot I’ve got chained in my cockpit while I wait to deliver him to his death. The fuck, right?”

The two shared a silent moment of guarded understanding before the entire ship was rocked to its side, sending them both tumbling towards the left wall of the ship. Poe’s chained ankle stopped him from being thrown too far, wrenching his foot back at a sharp angle. Poe heard the snap of bone before the shock of it reached his throat as he choked out a cry of pain.

Unrestrained, Omax was flung further, slamming the back of his head into a structural support along the wall. He groaned in agony as his stitches tore once more, pink-ish blood crawling down his neck and staining his shirt.  

The two had only begun to feel their fresh injuries when a gruff, strange female voice began broadcasting through the ship’s communicator.

_“This is Asheen-Les, Captain of the Tornadic. You have something I want. Hand over Poe Dameron willingly, or prepare to be boarded.”_


	4. Chapter 4

Poe pulled himself up off the floor as best he could, trying to steady himself against the jostle of the cuff that would send a sharp jolt of pain up his leg every time the durasteel knocked against the broken bone. He reached over to pull his pant leg up to inspect the damage, accidentally pulling his foot the wrong way and sending searing waves of agony through his body. He choked on the pain, heaving the small amount of food he’d been given onto the floor next to him. Panting, he looked over at the bounty hunter.

From what Poe could see, he was faring far better than Omax was. The entire left side of the half-Twi’lek was soaked in his own blood from the ruptured stitches of one of his lekku. He looked dazed, desperately trying to find the floor underneath his hands.

The two locked eyes by chance, sharing a mutual look of what Poe hoped was cooperation in their state of being mutually fucked by whoever the kriff this ‘Asheen-Les’ was.

Before he could speak, Omax lurched forward, scrambling towards Poe. With bloodied hands he worked to uncuff Poe from the floor, the release of the lock allowing Poe a moment free of pressure against his broken ankle. Omax pulled his body against the wall and locked eyes with Poe again, grabbing him roughly by the shoulders.

“ _Go_ ,” he coughed out, gesturing his head towards the cockpit.

Poe nodded, dragging himself past Omax towards the pilot’s seat. Balancing on his good foot, he was eventually able to pull his body up onto the leather chair he’d been dreaming about sitting in since he first woke up on this ship from hell.

Taking a deep breath, he slammed the button down on the comm link.

“You rang?” came his response to the mystery Captain, trying to sound as intact as possible.

_“I repeat: This is Asheen-Les, Captain of the Tornadic. Hand over Poe Dameron willingly, or prepare to be boarded.”_

“Oh yeah? Well, this is Poe Dameron,” he replied, his fingers working through the ignition and flight sequence like a trained musician warming up their instrument.

“And how about instead…”

               _Bleed air valves open… *click*_

_N1 and N2 shaft spin on… *click*_

_MX fuel flow open… *click*_

“…you and your crew…”

_Hyperdrive engaged… *click*_

_S-foils locked… *click*_

_Fusial thruster on… *click*_

“…kiss our asses.”

Poe slammed on the ignition with his non-dominant foot, knocking the surrounding ships out of their range as they zoomed forward.

“Hold on to something, Omax!” Poe shouted, using one hand to strap himself in as they hurtled through hyperspace towards the nearest system, the ship’s onboard nav computer reminding them that they had at least three unknown craft still trailing them.

He cut the jump early, taking a sharp pull to the right before altering his course to the series of planets passing by below them.

Ignoring the *beep* *beep* of the nav as it signaled two of the three ships had caught on to their exit, he coaxed their craft down below the atmosphere of the nearest planet. The cloud cover was thick, but not enough to hide in, though the surface of the planet was pocked with craggy mountains and long, winding rivers that flowed through deep valleys. It would have to do.

Poe dove left as one of the ships tailing them recovered the distance between them, glancing off the side of a rocky outcropping and knocking them around before Poe was able to realign. Behind him, Omax groaned.

“I’m working on it!” he yelled back, diving head-over-tail and sending them shooting off in the opposite direction just as the second ship broke atmo above them. Poe pulled on the blower lever, shooting a cloud of black smoke above them as he accelerated into the crevasse off to their right.

The trench seemed to stretch on for miles ahead of them, illuminated by a soft glow deep within the rocks. The second ship was still mirroring their movements in the air above them, keeping pace with the barely functioning craft Omax had been suckered into buying. Frustrated, Poe pulled up, hoping to not end up caught and cornered in a foreign ice valley; he’d always had more success in the sky anyway.

He stopped their ascent short, testing the brakes for half a second to allow the enemy ship to overtake the space in front of them. Poe jerked the ship forward, clipping the one in front of them and sending it spiraling into the trench below. He barely had time to savor the dull roar of the resulting explosion before the first ship gained on them, distracted by the nav computer beeping wildly about shit Poe was already aware of.

Poe looked back at Omax the minute he had a chance, finding the bounty hunter holding on for dear life to the chains he had repurposed into a harness against the floor. Wearily, he shot Poe what looked like a quick thumbs-up before grabbing the chain tightly.

Smiling, Poe turned his attention back to the chase, drawing the tailing ship towards the mountain range in front of them. He circled around the first peak, diving low between the second and third as he pulled left, circling around it and slamming into the back of the craft trying desperately to catch up. The impact shoved the enemy ship forward, smashing it into the side of the mountain with a satisfying orange and yellow explosion.

“Wooooo!” Poe cheered, all but ignoring the myriad of pains he had accumulated the past three days. He was in his element. He felt invincible.

The First Order would have to _drag him out of the fucking sky_ before he let himself get taken back.

He coaxed the craft down onto a small, empty field, their landing gear one of the only remaining undamaged bits of the ship. The pilot was so lost in the cloud of victory that he didn’t hear the bounty hunter moving until he was right behind him, the familiar feeling of cold blaster muzzle pressing against his neck.

“That’s some flying, Poe Dameron,” Omax coughed out, clearly still very much in pain. “Up. Get up. Let’s go.”

Poe raised both his hands in surrender as he tried to lift himself out of the pilot’s seat while balancing on only one foot.

“Omax, wait, what are y–”

“Shut up, Poe Dameron. Move. Down to the cargo area, man. C’mon.”

Trying his best to ignore the dread that was pooling in his stomach, Poe hopped forward. The bounty hunter forced him down the ladder to the cargo area of the ship, blaster trained on his temple. More than once he nearly passed out from the white-hot pain of putting even the smallest amount of weight on his broken ankle.

Once they reached the bottom Omax chided Poe forward to the ramp, forcing him to turn away from the bounty hunter as the ramp lowered slowly in front of them. Poe’s breath caught in his chest at the thought of where he was being led; was Omax going to kill him? Was this a new rendezvous point? Were the First Order going to appear out of the sky and drag him off to have his brain flayed open over and over by Kylo Ren? He cursed himself for lowering his guard even for a second. He almost wished they had been shot out of the sky, which was guaranteed to be a far better death than any the First Order would afford him.

As the ramp touched down on the soft, snowy ground, Omax jabbed Poe in the back with the blaster again, forcing him forward.

“Walk,” he barked out with a surprising strength Poe didn’t expect.

Poe reached the bottom of the ramp and waited for the next instruction, or for the prodding of a weapon against his skin. When nothing came, he cautiously turned around to look behind him. Omax was standing at the top of the ramp staring down at him. Slowly, he lowered the blaster.

“Well, what the fuck, Poe Dameron?”

“Wh – what?” he replied, his confusion clear.

“Man, these past three days sure have been a kick in the fuckin’ teeth, I’ll tell ya. So, you and I are done, man. Here is where we part ways.”

Poe opened his mouth to speak, stopping himself when he realized he didn’t know what to say.

“Honestly, I don’t think this is the right job for me, you know? Like, you had me vulnerable half a dozen times and you didn’t do shit about it. I’m bad at this, man. But you’re a good human and a hell of a pilot, Poe Dameron, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I turned this bounty in. Seems like a waste of a one of the universe’s few decent people.”

Poe watched as the bounty hunter slid a few of his items down to him, save for the ghhhk salve, which he probably needed to use more urgently anyway.

“Nav says this is Roon. Not inhabited, but about 20 hours outside of Alzoc III and general First Order territory, so make yourself scarce and I’d suggest calling your people as soon as you can,” he continued, sliding down a communicator which landed with a soft thump in the pile of Poe’s belongings. “Now, I can’t take you back to Yavin IV because I’ve already sunk too much kriffing money into this fucking doomed disaster of a bounty, but… I’m not going to call the First Order. I’m done though, man. Okay? I’m fucking _done_.”

The pilot, usually infallibly charming and quick-witted, found himself stunned to silence at the bottom of the ramp. His torture and death seemed so close, so certain, and now…? With what little composure he had left, he called up to the bounty hunter as he turned to walk back into the ship.

“Hey, Omax’tuji. Take care of yourself, man. And thank you.”

The bounty hunter barked out a noise similar to a laugh as he gripped his bleeding head wound. Watching the ramp close, he called back down to his bounty.

“Shut up, Poe Dameron.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, all. Love you. <3

The big leather chair of his ship’s cockpit was comfortable, but never for longer than a quick three or four-hour nap. On the verge of uncomfortable stiffness, Omax stretched the sleep out of his limbs, careful not to bump his amputated lekku that had been healing quite well thanks to Poe Dameron’s strange remedy. It had been two full week cycles since he had dropped the pilot off on the remote planet just outside of First Order territory, and part of him missed having him around.

He had been a job, but he seemed like a good, genuine guy. Even with his own life at risk.

_No matter_ , Omax thought to himself. _Not like I’ll ever see him again anyway_.

Flipping open the cockpit shutters, he squinted his eyes against the brightness of the sun rising over the horizon of Ryloth. He’d been floating above the planet for the past week, watching the clouds work their way across the sky, and admiring the way the capital city of Lessu would light up in the most beautiful colors at night.

This morning’s colors were accompanied by the bright blue flash of the incoming message light, one Omax had personally never seen function. Confused, he hovered his hand over the button for a full moment before allowing the message through.

He almost laughed when he recognized the voice.

_Hey, Omax! It’s Poe. Long time, right? Anyway, I made it back to the Resistance base eventually, and got my ankle set. Should be good as new in the next few days. BB-8, my droid, sends his regards. I’d put him on but his regards are… less than pleasant. I’m sure you understand._

_Anyway, enough about me. I’m sure you’re confused, but to clear up the obvious question: I logged your receiver signal as we were touching down on Roon. It’s a super easy process, and you should have someone show you if you don’t know how to get that information already._

_Second, I also helped myself to a scan of your holopad. If you pull it up, you’ll notice a few additional credits sitting in your account. It’s not a lot, and nowhere near what the First Order were offering for me, but it’s everything I have. Not like I have much to spend it on anyway. The war keeps us kind of busy. It should be enough to take some time to find out more about yourself, if you wanted to._

_So yeah, long story short, thank you for not killing me. And thank you for not handing me over to the First Order for them to kill me. Though you did make me miss the Five Sabers Championship final, so fuck you for that._

_Hope you’re doing better. Remember, there’s always room in the Resistance if you’re looking for your place in the galaxy. Take care of yourself, Omax._

Stunned, Omax slouched back in his chair. He pulled up his holopad and nearly wept at the amount Poe Dameron had transferred over to him.

_That son of a bitch_ , he thought to himself, cracking a small smile at the sweetest gesture anyone had ever made for him in his life.

Omax sat back in his chair and watched the clouds below continue their journey across the horizon. He had options now. Those credits could open a lot of doors. What good fortune to pick up the galaxy’s biggest pain in the ass as his first bounty. _Poe fucking Dameron_.

“The galaxy, even during its darkest hours, is fundamentally a good place,” he muttered aloud to no one, repeating it as he started the ship’s ignition sequence.

“Alright, man. Let’s do this.” As ready as he’d ever be, Omax took a deep breath as he broke Ryloth’s atmosphere.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm using [this map](http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/d/dd/TheOuterRim.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20091207040151) for reference, in case anyone wants to follow along at home.


End file.
